Court stays arrest of Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders

Lucknow, Nov 24 (IANS) Four Congress leaders, including two union junior ministers, got a breather after the Allahabad High Court Thursday stayed their arrest in a case of allegedly assaulting Samajwadi Party (SP) activists during Congress general secretary’s Rahul Gandhi rally in Phulpur, a lawyer said.

A division bench of the high court stayed the arrest following a petition by the Congress leaders seeking a stay on their arrest and quashing of the first information report lodged against them.

Union junior ministers Jitin Prasada, R.P.N. Singh and state legislators Pramod Tiwari and Naseeb Pathan were booked Nov 15 for assaulting SP workers, who broke through the security cordon of Rahul Gandhi during his programme in Allahabad’s Phulpur constituency the day before.

“While the court stayed the arrest of the four leaders, the judgment over the question of quashing of the FIR would come at a later stage,” Samit Gopal, counsel for the Congress leaders, told reporters in Allahabad, some 200 km from Lucknow.

“While no date has been fixed for the next hearing of the case, it is expected to come up in the week starting Dec 19,” he added.